The present invention relates to a hot pad for absorbing energy and heating articles, and more particularly to such a hot pad for absorbing energy in a microwave oven.
One of the many advantages of the use of a microwave oven is the ability to cook foodstuffs on a plate, with the plate remaining sufficiently cool that it may be manually removed from the oven without the use of thermally insulated gloves or handles. This "advantage" arises from the fact that typical plates (including dishes, platters and the like) are formed of microwave-transmissive material and are devoid of moisture which would absorb and become excited by the microwave energy so as to effect sensible heating of the plate. To the extent the plate heats up, such heating is due to heat transferred from the food on the plate. It is not possible to heat an empty plate or similar article in a microwave oven. A hot meal should be served on a warmed plate so that the meal remains hot (or at least warm) during the eating thereof. Unfortunately, as noted above, plates of microwave-transmissive material cannot presently be heated in a microwave oven. Thus, the need remains for means to enable such plates and other similar microwave-transmissive materials to be heated in a microwave oven.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hot pad for absorbing energy in a microwave oven and heating articles (such as plates of microwave-transmissive material) in thermally conductive contact with the pad.
Another object is to provide a method of using such a hot pad to heat a microwave-transmissive article in a microwave oven.
A further object is to provide a method of using such a hot pad to heat an article outside of a microwave oven.